Tag: fun facts

Say what you want about life imitating art, but you really can’t argue with the fact that art imitates itself every now and again. Just ask the creators over at Pixar. You’ve probably seen most of their movies, but did you know that some of their most popular films pay homage to the greats of cinema past?

Movies like Toy Story,Up, and The Incredibles are filled to the brim with references to some of the most beloved films of all time.

The parallels might not be obvious at first, but looking at the productions with a discerning eye reveals the level of influence that these revered blockbusters have had on Pixar’s greatest hits over the years.

After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

To see more of these parallels in action, check this out:

Pretty amazing, right? It’s easy to watch Pixar movies with idle, cartoon-loving eyes, but the next time they roll out another classic, be on the lookout for allusions to your favorite cinematic standbys.

Even though you might not be able to picture a frozen hellscape in which Harry Potter is not played by Daniel Radcliffe, the fact of that matter is that someone else almost did.

In fact, the same is true for plenty of popular movie and TV characters. What would “Pretty Woman” be without Julia Roberts? Who else could even legally play Han Solo other than Harrison Ford? These are the hard-hitting questions, friends, and I’m here to give you some answers.

Here are 25 beloved characters that were almost played by other actors.

1. Britney Spears was considered for the role of Allie Calhoun in “The Notebook.” Rachel McAdams got the gig instead.

6. Human-shaped dumpster fire Nicolas Cage almost snagged the role of John Bender in “The Breakfast Club.” Fortunately for all of humankind, he didn’t.

7. Instead of the late, great Alan Rickman, casting directors for the Harry Potter franchise almost went with Tim Roth (who for all I know could be a great actor but is also not Alan Rickman) to play Severus Snape.

16. We all loved watching Maya Rudolph play Lillian in “Bridesmaids,” but I’m sure Mindy Kaling would’ve been just as funny if she’d been given the role after auditioning.

17. Mars was apparently in retrograde when Al Pacino was considered to play Han Solo. Fortunately, Harrison Ford rolled up and was all like, “Nah, man,” probably.

18. If you need me, I’ll be tracking down the person who almost cast Rob Lowe as Dr. McDreamy, otherwise known as Derek Shepherd, otherwise known as a character that should never be played by Rob Lowe under any circumstances, in “Grey’s Anatomy.”

19. Hugh Grant almost played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” but lost out to Kenneth Branagh in the end.

20. An actor by the name of Thomas Jane fought in what I can only imagine was a slime-ball battle in his own mucus with fellow human slug Jon Hamm for the role of Don Draper in “Mad Men.” Ultimately, Hamm won.

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21. In what would’ve been the cutest swap in history, Harry Potter’s gigantic friend Hagrid was almost played the late Robin Williams instead of Robbie Coltrane, who also happens to be awesome.

We all want a healthy, active brain. Healthy brains help us stay alive and thinking. Sometimes, there are outside forces that can hinder or enhance your brain activity. If you’re not sure what these outside forces are, you’ve come to the right place! Everyday items and occurrences change the brain drastically, so it’s best to remain aware of them.

1.) Violent homes have the same effect on the brain of a child as combat does on the brain of a soldier.

Some Americans have trouble remembering the words to the Star Spangled Banner and that is like the most basic American thing to know. It would be asking a little much to have the populace dig deeper and find out more weird things about our country. So sit back and relax, we’ve done all the research for you and I’ve provided this neat little compendium of strange but true facts about America. Educate yourself!

1.) 1 out of every 8 Americans have been employed by McDonald’s at some point.

19.) 40% of births in America are from unmarried women.

20.) 22 million chickens are consumed in the US every day.

21.) America is one of the only countries to display their flag almost everywhere.

America certainly is a great country and after learning some of these facts, I feel better about myself and more educated about this great land. Share this post if you’re proud to be an American. If you don’t share it, I’m just going to assume you hate America and I’ll have to tell you to GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY!

For some people, being at the top of their respective fields isn’t enough. They can’t stop there; they have to try and be the best at everything. Maybe they picked up a hobby to take their minds off of whatever talents turned them into a star, and couldn’t help but become great at that, too.

Either way, the celebrities on this list are not just actors or singers; they’re too gifted for that. Find out which of your favorite stars have hidden talents in the list below. Take a look!

1.) Geena Davis nearly made the United States Women’s Archery team in the 2000 Summer Olympics.

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2.) Justin Bieber can put a Rubik’s Cube together in under two minutes.

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3.) Susan Sarandon is an amazing ping pong player. She even co-owns a ping pong club in New York.

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4.) Bob Barker practices karate, which he was taught by Chuck Norris.

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5.) Jason Lee used to be a professional skateboarder.

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6.) Jennifer Garner can play the saxophone really well.

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7.) Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise used to play “Speed Scrabble” together.

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8.) Ed O’Neill has a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

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9.) Bob Dylan is a talented ironworker.

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10.) Heidi Klum is a talented painter.

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11.) Miley Cyrus is a champion cheerleader.

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12.) Vanilla Ice races jet skis and motocross bikes.

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13.) Colin Farrell used to teach country line dancing.

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14.) Kevin Bacon is in a rock band with his brother Michael. They call themselves The Bacon Brothers.